In the decade since Smallville went off the air, there have been a flood of new comic book superhero series. It's crazy to think that just 10 years ago, there were really no other popular comic book output than this series. There was no Flash or Arrow or Gotham or Supergirl or Defenders or Agents of Shield. Smallville was IT back then. A full decade later, I have to say I still think that Smallville is still one of the top 3 superhero shows ever. And this episode I'm reviewing is a huge reason as to why, because this episode HOMECOMING, also the 100th episode of the series, is arguably the best episode of the entire show and it happens in the tenth and FINAL season! But not only this episode, but also I recall the last 3 seasons of Smallville 8, 9, and 10 ALL being great.
While shows like Flash and Arrow went bad after their first couple of seasons and Gotham ended on an awful note in it's final season and a show like Batwoman appears to be a giant hot mess to begin with, Smallville, a show that started 20 years ago as a somewhat cringe teen high school drama (that got lumped in with the likes of Dawson's Creek, Charmed, Gilmore Girls, and One Tree Hill) eventually evolved into a fun, engaging, entertaining, mature full blown superhero show. Smallville just got better and better, while these "modern" Arrowverse shows just get worse and worse.
I think a huge reason that Smallville worked is because it was uniquely the only superhero show of it's time, so it never had the albatross of being dragged down by being associated with other shows. No crossovers allowed in the 2000s, hence Smallville always remained it's own universe. Another huge reason for Smallville's enduring success is that it found a second life in it's final act by ridding itself of Lana Lang, one of the worst characters of the sub-genre of comic book TV shows. These "modern" shows seem to do the exact opposite and keep their Lana Lang type characters (Iris West, Felicity Smoak, Lee Thompkins, etc) around until the very end, thus sabotaging any chance their shows have of moving forward in a positive direction.
But I digress! LOL Homecoming is a 100th episode done right (American Horror Story REALLY should have taken notes). Tom Welling and Erica Durance completely shine in this episode as the iconic Clark and Lois duo. Homecoming was a perfect mixture of nostalgia, flashbacks, flashforwards, and plot movement. In this episode, Clark's life is in turmoil as the world is turning against heroes and seeing them as vigilantes instead of saviors. To pick up his spirits, Lois gets him to attend is 5-year high school reunion at Smallville High. She accompanies him and all of Clark's old memories begin to flood him. To help him on his journey, a re-tooled good guy version of Brainiac (a brilliant James Marsters) arrives from the future.
Brainiac takes Clark through all the important milestones of his life, including Jonathan's funeral, his high school missions, but most importantly, Clark gets a glimpse into his actual future as Superman and his life with Lois. Frankly, I enjoyed these future scenes in Homecoming better than the ones in the series finale. The Homecoming ones really had that iconic Christopher Reeve 70s-80s Superman vibe. Upon returning to the present, Clark finally mans up and tells Lois those 3 important words she's been waiting to hear for years. Clark and Lois' incredible chemistry is on full display.
Far from being just a by-the-numbers clip episode, as most shows tend to do, Homecoming is just as much of a plot-driven episode as any standard episode of the series. It's about Clark, the protagonist of the series, realizing his true calling as a superhero. I would tell the Arrowverse writers to take notes, but it's pretty much too late. Smallville was apparently one of a kind!
While shows like Flash and Arrow went bad after their first couple of seasons and Gotham ended on an awful note in it's final season and a show like Batwoman appears to be a giant hot mess to begin with, Smallville, a show that started 20 years ago as a somewhat cringe teen high school drama (that got lumped in with the likes of Dawson's Creek, Charmed, Gilmore Girls, and One Tree Hill) eventually evolved into a fun, engaging, entertaining, mature full blown superhero show. Smallville just got better and better, while these "modern" Arrowverse shows just get worse and worse.
I think a huge reason that Smallville worked is because it was uniquely the only superhero show of it's time, so it never had the albatross of being dragged down by being associated with other shows. No crossovers allowed in the 2000s, hence Smallville always remained it's own universe. Another huge reason for Smallville's enduring success is that it found a second life in it's final act by ridding itself of Lana Lang, one of the worst characters of the sub-genre of comic book TV shows. These "modern" shows seem to do the exact opposite and keep their Lana Lang type characters (Iris West, Felicity Smoak, Lee Thompkins, etc) around until the very end, thus sabotaging any chance their shows have of moving forward in a positive direction.
But I digress! LOL Homecoming is a 100th episode done right (American Horror Story REALLY should have taken notes). Tom Welling and Erica Durance completely shine in this episode as the iconic Clark and Lois duo. Homecoming was a perfect mixture of nostalgia, flashbacks, flashforwards, and plot movement. In this episode, Clark's life is in turmoil as the world is turning against heroes and seeing them as vigilantes instead of saviors. To pick up his spirits, Lois gets him to attend is 5-year high school reunion at Smallville High. She accompanies him and all of Clark's old memories begin to flood him. To help him on his journey, a re-tooled good guy version of Brainiac (a brilliant James Marsters) arrives from the future.
Brainiac takes Clark through all the important milestones of his life, including Jonathan's funeral, his high school missions, but most importantly, Clark gets a glimpse into his actual future as Superman and his life with Lois. Frankly, I enjoyed these future scenes in Homecoming better than the ones in the series finale. The Homecoming ones really had that iconic Christopher Reeve 70s-80s Superman vibe. Upon returning to the present, Clark finally mans up and tells Lois those 3 important words she's been waiting to hear for years. Clark and Lois' incredible chemistry is on full display.
Far from being just a by-the-numbers clip episode, as most shows tend to do, Homecoming is just as much of a plot-driven episode as any standard episode of the series. It's about Clark, the protagonist of the series, realizing his true calling as a superhero. I would tell the Arrowverse writers to take notes, but it's pretty much too late. Smallville was apparently one of a kind!